I decided to buy a pair of the Kinlin rims and build one set of each with all other components being the same. I think it would be better for my son to be on alloy rims, particularly on wet days. Also, I am not certain, but it appears that there is a rule prohibiting the use of any carbon rims for juniors. I thought it was only tubulars that are prohibited, but I may be wrong.

Frame and fork arrived last night. Quality looks VERY good. No chance to weight them yet. The paint job is very nice. I planned to strip the frame, remove the cable stops, and make the frame internal-di2-ready, but am now undecided.

I am following these builds closely as my son that is turning 7 wants a road bike and MTB. I already have a 14" MTB that I have built up for when he is big enough but a road bike would be nice so we can go for a bit longer rides. He rode 20km on hard packed gravel in the summer at 6 years old on a BMX. The kid is a diesel engine.

Everyone has to wait until after Christmas for pictures. It was bad enough he answered the door when the box was delivered. I managed to convince him the box was new wheels for his mom's mtn bike... even produced a pair of new wheels to show him (Crank Bros Cobalt 3). If I take the frame out for photos it is almost guaranteed he'll catch me in the act. 4 days...

Frame weight is 1440g which is 60g more than advertised. Of course, advertised weight might have been for the raw frame or without the derailleur hanger. Who knows? The fork was spot on at 520g.

My current plan is to remove the derailleur cable stops and rear brake cable stops, then drill the necessary holes for internal di2 routing and internal rear brake cable routing. I'll then sandblast the frame and, perhaps, polish it. I suspect all that could drop another couple hundred grams. It looks like I'll only need to drill one hole on the downtube, one on the seat tube, and one on the chainstay for the di2. There are holes through the b/b shell into each of those frame tubes already. The trick will be the brake cable routing. Finding the necessary grommets for the di2 wires is easy, but sourcing grommets/guides for an internal brake cable looks a bit tougher. So far I have only found these:

Hopefully, with the Alpha Q fork, I can get the combined frame/fork weight down to around 1500 grams. But first I have to find someone with a little more skill than I possess to grind off the cable stops and drill the required holes. I don't want to do it myself as I lack the proper tools.

The other option I'll have is to choose battery placement. The frame triangle is very small and barely has room for one bottle cage. So I'm looking at putting the battery under the bottom bracket or under the non-drive chainstay.

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